Juan Velazquez: Stylist always made an entrance

Family was center of his life

Juan P. Rivera Velazquez, 37, worked side-by-side with his mother and husband Luis Daniel Conde at their salon D'Magazine.

Born in Barceloneta, Puerto Rico, family was central to Velazquez's life.

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His sister Jessica Silva described him as "the best kid that a mother could have, the best brother and the best uncle that my kids could have."

Velazquez was celebrating a friend's birthday when he was killed inside Pulse nightclub alongside his husband during the June 12, 2016 mass shooting.

Velazquez's family told News 6 that he always made an entrance when he walked into a room, adding his smile was radiant.

On Dec. 8 nearly six months after the Pulse massacre, Velazquez's family reopened his hair salon in Orlando, naming it D'Magazine by Juan P. His mother, sister and cousin run the business in his honor.
One year after Velazquez was killed Silva said the loss is still like an open wound.

 

"It hurts. It hurts not being able to give him a kiss. To ask him, 'Do you like what I'm doing? Do you think this is right? Do you think I should put this table here over there?' And not having him is difficult,” Silva said.

 


About the Author:

Troy graduated from California State University Northridge with a Bachelor's Degree in Communication. He has reported on Mexican drug cartel violence on the El Paso/ Juarez border, nuclear testing facilities at the Idaho National Laboratory and severe Winter weather in Michigan.

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